The Archdiocese of Berlin invites you to pray for the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. The Archdiocese explained that the deceased was already remembered during the end-of-year prayers in St. Josef im Wedding on Saturday. A requiem in St. John’s Basilica is being prepared for January 9 together with the Apostolic Nunciature.
A book of condolences will also be available from Monday in the Nunciature, the diplomatic representation of the Holy See in Germany, at Lilienthalstraße 3A in Neukölln. The German Bishops’ Conference announced that mourners could register on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For the Catholic Church in Germany, the chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing, and the Apostolic Nuncio Nikola Eterovic want to do this on Monday morning. According to the information, condolence books are also available in the Limburg Cathedral (Hesse) and at the seat of the German Bishops’ Conference in Bonn.
The Archdiocese of Berlin also has set up an online book of condolences on its websitein which the deceased ex-Pope can already be commemorated.
Archbishop Heiner Koch explained that Benedict had dedicated his life to the service of God and his church. “I admire the fact that he had the courage to resign from this office when he realized that he was no longer up to the demands,” emphasized Koch.
However, he added: “His commitment to dealing with the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and as Pope was eclipsed by irritating statements about his time as Archbishop of Munich-Freising. I very much regret that this has caused the theologian Joseph Ratzinger to be discredited by many.”
He himself associates the former Pope with his visit to the World Youth Day in Cologne. “The time with him was a formative experience for me and for all young people who met him,” recalled Koch, who was promoted by Benedict XVI. was appointed auxiliary bishop in Cologne. “I learned from him to understand the office as a calling and as a service, even in difficult times.”
Benedict XVI died on Saturday morning at the age of 95 in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican. (tsp, dpa)
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